Beware the New Scam of Voice Cloning

You get a call from a frantic voice on the line. It's your grandson, daughter, mother, grandparent, or best friend.

They say they are in deep trouble and panicking. They’re in an emergency. Maybe they’ve wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money quickly. You take a deep breath and think. You've heard about grandparent scams. But darn, it sounds just like him. How could it be a scam?

Voice cloning, that's how. The Federal Trade Commission recently put out an alert for consumers to be on guard against voice cloning.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly in recent years, leading to breakthroughs in various fields and providing new tools for scammers. One such tool is voice cloning, which allows scammers to replicate a familiar voice to commit fraud.

Voice cloning is no longer a concept from a sci-fi movie. It is a reality that has begun to affect people's lives and bank accounts. Scammers only need a short audio clip of a family member's voice, which can be obtained from online content, and a voice-cloning program to make a near-perfect imitation. This technology has been used to deceive grandparents and executives alike, leading to significant financial losses.

In 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported a case where scammers impersonated the boss of a UK-based energy firm CEO and demanded $243,000. The CEO believed he was speaking with the chief executive of the firm's German parent company and was instructed to send the funds to a Hungarian supplier within an hour. Euler Hermes Group SA, the company's insurance firm, confirmed the incident. The caller said the request was urgent, directing the executive to pay within an hour.

Another example occurred in early 2020, as reported by Forbes. A bank manager in Hong Kong was fooled by someone using voice-cloning technology, which resulted in unauthorized transfers totaling $35 million. The caller's voice was recognized as a director of a company the bank manager had previously spoken with, who claimed his company was about to make an acquisition.

The CBC has also reported at least eight senior citizens in Canada lost a combined $200,000 earlier this year due to an apparent voice-cloning scam. In all cases, the victims received calls from imposters who sounded like their grandchildren, claiming to be in an accident and needing money for bail or legal fees. The scammers were even able to provide personal details about the actual grandchildren, such as their living arrangements and the names of other family members. In each case, the victim was convinced it was their grandchild.

To protect yourself from such scams, it is crucial to remain vigilant and skeptical. Do not blindly trust a voice on the phone. Verify the story by hanging up and contacting the person who supposedly called using a known phone number. If you cannot reach them, contact them through another family member or their friends.

Scammers often ask for payment methods that make it difficult to retrieve the money once sent. If a caller requests you to wire money, send cryptocurrency, or purchase gift cards and provide them with the card numbers and PINs, these are signs of a potential scam.

If you suspect that you have encountered a scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Image: FTC.gov